On Saturday, a court in Maharashtra’s Thane district permanently exempted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from appearing in a defamation case brought against him by Rashtriya Sawyamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary.

Bhiwandi First Class Judicial Magistrate C Wadikar heard the application submitted by Rahul Gandhi through his lawyer Narayan Iyer, stating that the Congress leader should be granted a permanent exemption.

The magistrate also set June 3 to record evidence in a defamation suit filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte.

In 2014, Kunte filed a private complaint in the Bhiwandi Magistrates Court after watching Rahul Gandhi’s speech in which he allegedly accused the RSS of assassinating Mahatma Gandhi. Kunte claimed the statement defamed RSS’s reputation.

Rahul Gandhi appeared in court in June 2018 and pleaded not guilty.

“Defendant Rahul Rajiv Gandhi is hereby exempted from appearing in court until the court passes a further order subject to the following conditions,” read the order, a copy of which was obtained by PTI.

“The accused undertakes that his duly appointed advocate will appear punctually and regularly on each scheduled date and that the trial will proceed in the absence of the accused,” said one of the conditions. “The accused remains in court as directed,” wrote another reads.

Rahul Gandhi, who was recently disqualified as an MP after being convicted in a defamation case by a Surat court, had sought exemption from appearing in a Bhiwandi court last year because he was a resident of Delhi and is a Lok Sabha member (Wayanad) who has to visit his constituency, attend party work and travel frequently. Rahul Gandhi had requested that his lawyer be allowed to represent him at the hearing if needed.

Kunte recently argued that now that Rahul Gandhi is no longer an MP, he should not be granted an exemption.

The Surat court sentenced Rahul Gandhi to two years in prison on March 23 in a 2019 criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi’s “Why all thieves have Modi surname” remarks. The court also granted him bail, suspended for 30 days, so that he could appeal to a higher court. He was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha the next day.